Heads up!

So. You’ve just beaten Calamity Ganon. Hyrule is safe once more. Zelda appears before you and the game finishes with our two heroes starting their new life 100 years after the Great Calamity and all evil has been conquered.

I was really hoping the DLC was going to be the next chapter in the story, about how Zelda and Link were to rebuild Hyrule. You already have some antagonists to stop this from happening i.e. the Yiga Clan, or introduce some new threat (the Ghost of Ganon anyone?) to make the story interesting with conflict and high stakes. Plus, we’ve spent the game exploring all of these different locations and met the descendants of the Champions, but it’d be really interesting to see Zelda’s reaction and opinion on all that’s happened and all that is.

I reckon storywise, Zelda and Link embark to rebuild Hyrule as mentioned, but there is a sense of Zelda proving her identity and worth to Zora, Goron, Korok, Gerudo, Hylian and Rito as she’s now their queen - how do you convince people like that when you appear out of the blue?

After Calamity Ganon's defeat, a devastated Zelda must come to terms with her ruined kingdom, dead friends, and the resentment of the Hero who had saved her, but lost his fiancee. When all hope seems lost, she comes across a legend of a holy relic that can set things right, if she can find the ancient keys to access it. With the help of new friends, and without Link, can Zelda finally become a legend, on her own terms?

The post was edited 1 time, last by Violetlight (Dec 1st 2018, 8:23pm).

I think it’s quite possible Zelda would’ve faced resistance, as Hyrule’s remaining dwellings seem to have managed without her. The Sheikah, probably would’ve followed her, and I imagined she sought their help to start rebuilding the kingdom. The Zora probably would’ve followed her, but as for the Hylian towns, there doesn’t seem to be much of a leadership structure left, and they’re fairly independent.

It’s possible she could be seen as some sort of religious figure- technically she is, being the incarnation of the Goddess- and people who’d previously fled Hyrule could’ve returned, if someone had somehow instilled the survivors and their descendants with a belief that she would return to save Hyrule from Calamity Ganon. Maybe a bit of a stretch though.

"This is the tale of an ancient land of lush forests and verdant meadows. A land blessed by the Goddesses where the powers of light and shadow exist in perfect balance. This is the story of the kingdom of Hyrule, of a king who sought to control the power of the gods, and of a boy without a fairy. A boy whose struggle against the shadow became a legend, riding upon the Winds of Time..."

Well, the epilogue makes it clear that Zelda intends to go to Zora's Domain, so that's probably a good place to start. The Zoras will recognize her, at least. Zelda is more responsible for Mipha's death than Link is, so I could see the Zora elders still having a grudge against her, but between Sidon and King Dorephan's kindness, and the younger Zora's not being so concerned with slights of the past, she can probably count them as an ally.

I imagine she would want to visit Kakariko, too, to see Impa if nothing else. Since Impa will recognize Zelda and the rest of the Sheikah trust her, they'll be pretty friendly as well. Likewise, she's likely to visit Purah and Robbie, and probably have long and fascinating conversations about Ancient Sheikah tech.

Hateno is an interesting case. They seem to have a religious loyalty to Hylia which would probably translate into divine right to rule for the Royal Family, and with Sheikah and Zoras vouching for her, Zelda could probably convince them that she is indeed a member of the Royal Family. There's no way the battle with Dark Beast Ganon went unnoticed by Hylian travelers, so they may already be thanking Hylia for getting rid of the incarnation of evil around Hyrule Castle and shutting all the guardians down again. If Zelda wants to, she could probably establish herself as Queen in Hateno and the extend her influence out from there to encompass the stables and form new alliances with the Gorons, Rito, and Gerudo.

But would she? She does desire to restore Hyrule's prosperity, but the very first thing she sets out to do is investigate the Divine Beasts. I don't think she has any particular interest in politics and ruling. Probably, she'll want to work with Purah and Robbie to develop new tech to help the people of Hyrule -- whether that be weapons and armor for defending themselves against monsters, or something more like the Sheikah Slate that could be used for construction, mining, etc.

In the meantime, monster groups are disorganized and most of them seem primarily interested in survival, so they won't much of a problem. Yiga Clan is a different story, I believe it's said in one of they flashbacks that they were trying to revive Calamity Ganon. Whether that's how he came back the first time or not, it's almost inevitable that they'll try again. Having lost Master Kohga, they may be disorganized and leaderless, but they're obviously still an organization. They may also target Zelda for assassination, out of a sense of vengeance (which they seem happy to indulge in Link's case) or an attempt to end the bloodline of the Royal Family.

With that in mind, I think Link will either end up with Zelda, playing the now-familiar role of bodyguard, or tracking down the Yiga Clan's new base to prevent villainy from them. In the latter case, Zelda will probably confine herself to relatively safe locations like Zora's Domain, Kakariko, or Hateno, without spending much time on the road.

Link will presumably return the Thunder Helm to Gerudo Town, where Riju will keep it safer than she did last time. Assuming the Divine Beasts shut down when their Champion ghost pilots disappeared, they will simply stand as giant animal-shaped monuments to the battle they once fought. Perhaps new pilots could be found, but because the requirements for being one are so vague, it's impossible to know whether it could be done or not.

As Link is now known as a hero to key figures of every community, his vouching for Zelda means uniting the land should be a piece of cake.

Hell, if the Sheikah Slate is still active she can even be one of the most effective rulers of all time, wasting no time on travel and instantly escaping Yiga attacks.

Monsters'll probably die out soon enough without a bloodmoon around, if they didn't disappear with Ganon already. If those pools of Malice are gone that'll save a ton of time on cleanup.

Rome wasn't built in one lifetime though. If Link and Zelda have descendants, which seems logical based on Kass' song and the JPN version of the quest log, eventually those'll grow into the Royal Family, Hyrule Castle will be rebuilt as it has been in the past, Ganon will break free again, yiddle diddle yee.

One thing I a lot of people are forgetting: Does this incarnation of Zelda want to be a Princess, now that she doesn't have to?

I was a little vague in my answer before, but basically I'm writing a fan fic (and yes, I'm technically still writing it, slowly but surely), where Zelda and Link have a falling out after the ending cutscene. So Link would not be accompanying Zelda, neither in her visits to Kakariko and Hateno, nor in her later travels through Hyrule. A lot of other posters have stated having Link vouch for her would mean a lot, but what if she didn't have that? Some blonde girl nobody has ever seen before, claiming to be the long-dead princess? People in Hateno would probably pay her about as much attention as we do the homeless guy on the street corner claiming to be Jesus.

Besides, the surviving Hylians have been getting along for the past 100 years without a royal family, and what exactly did having one get them in the past, besides the majority of their race killed? Can two small villages and a scattering of stables really be a "kingdom", especially to a likely skeptical people who probably don't want to go back to the old ways?

Zelda now has the chance to be free of the expectations of her role, both as the political leader of Hyrule and of the pressure put on her to be the "Seal Mage" or whatever. We don't know her opinions on the first, but we know she certainly hated the latter. Now, she doesn't have to do any of that. She could go out and research ruins and Shiekah Tech to her heart's content, and absolutely no one would tell her otherwise. Why not indulge in the chance she's been given to finally live her life the way she wants to live it?

After Calamity Ganon's defeat, a devastated Zelda must come to terms with her ruined kingdom, dead friends, and the resentment of the Hero who had saved her, but lost his fiancee. When all hope seems lost, she comes across a legend of a holy relic that can set things right, if she can find the ancient keys to access it. With the help of new friends, and without Link, can Zelda finally become a legend, on her own terms?

Come to think of it, the people of Hateno wouldn't have a lot of reason to take Link's word for such a dramatic claim, anyway. The most notable thing he did there is buy a house. Traveling Hylians might recognize him as a skilled warrior, but it's only the other races that will recognize him as a Champion or 'descendant' of a Champion.

Your argument hinges on Link and Zelda having a falling-out, despite Link's entire character and past revolving around serving the Royal Family. Even then he'd have to keep the Sheikah Slate despite it being rightfully Zelda's. Even then, Zelda wouldn't be believed despite massive lasers shooting the castle from all corners of the land and the absolutely titanic Dark Beast Ganon being slain in an open meadow where she appeared in a blaze of golden light?

It also hinges on Zelda abandoning her idea of restoring Hyrule and fixing the Divine Beasts alongside Link, which is the only thing the final cutscene pointed towards.

Even if the Hylians are skeptical, with the backing of the Zora that should even be able to recognize her, AND the leader of the Sheikah, that's a lot of clout to have.

There’s no reason for the surviving Hylians to trust the Sheikah. Unless I’m mistaken, they live in completely separate areas, and given that it was Sheikah technology that destroyed Hyrule and killed their ancestors, it seems unlikely that them supporting Zelda would mean much. If anything, it’d be seen as a threat.

I will agree that I’m not the biggest fan of Link and Zelda having a fall out. A good idea for a fanfic though, I think ZeLink gets too much love.

"This is the tale of an ancient land of lush forests and verdant meadows. A land blessed by the Goddesses where the powers of light and shadow exist in perfect balance. This is the story of the kingdom of Hyrule, of a king who sought to control the power of the gods, and of a boy without a fairy. A boy whose struggle against the shadow became a legend, riding upon the Winds of Time..."

Even then he'd have to keep the Sheikah Slate despite it being rightfully Zelda's.

Why would he have to keep the slate? I don't recall anyone in Hateno recognizing it. Aside from Purah and Symin, but Purah would recognize Zelda anyway.

As for the Zoras and Sheikah vouching for her, I do agree that they'd be willing to and it would probably work. But since I'm probably the only who remembers this, I'll mention it anyway. Thadd, the guard who stands at the gate of Hateno Village, first greets Link with suspicion. After noticing that Link is a Hylian, he remarks, "You certainly do appear to be a Hylian like the rest of us... Hylians are generally good folk, so... Sorry for getting all worked up... You're free to go." Then he chats with Link a little and offers directions to the general store and the inn. That could be an indication of some xenophobia on the part of the Hatenoans, though it's still possible that he somehow mistook Link for a bokoblin.

Your argument hinges on Link and Zelda having a falling-out, despite Link's entire character and past revolving around serving the Royal Family. Even then he'd have to keep the Sheikah Slate despite it being rightfully Zelda's. Even then, Zelda wouldn't be believed despite massive lasers shooting the castle from all corners of the land and the absolutely titanic Dark Beast Ganon being slain in an open meadow where she appeared in a blaze of golden light?

Who exactly would have seen this "blaze of golden light?" Hateno is a long ways away from Central Hyrule, with mountains blocking the line of sight to the field. The only people who might have seen anything would be those at Riverside and Wetlands stables, and even then, it would be more of a "what the **** was that!" moment, likely not even seeing any people involved. The Hylians also have nothing to do with the Divine Beasts, and likely would pass it off as the other races screwing around with them.

To me, it harkens back to the reactions of the people of Castle Town in TP. Turned into Twilight ghosts? Must have been some bad dream. Castle covered by a force field? Damn rich people screwing around again.

Gamtos wrote:

Even if the Hylians are skeptical, with the backing of the Zora that should even be able to recognize her, AND the leader of the Sheikah, that's a lot of clout to have.

The Shiekah have been keeping to themselves for the past 100 years, probably because the tech they invented, and helped dig up, wiped out most of the Hylian population. The Zora elders blamed Link for what happened to Mipha -- imagine what they think of Zelda, who, unlike Link, is directly responsible for her death due to her failure to unlock her powers before then. Link had to earn their trust again through freeing the Divine Beast. Zelda had no such heroic opportunities. As @Evran_Speer pointed out, at least some of the people of Hateno seem to have developed a mild case of xenophobia. I doubt the words of other races, even if they were so inclined, would convince them that Zelda was who she said she was. And even if they did believe, who says they would even want her leadership?

Imagine if Teddy Roosevelt just popped up in Washington during the Obama years, saying he's back and the rightful President of the United States, and who cares if it's 100 years later. Even if he is awesome, would you want some guy taking over the Presidency just because he claims he's one of the guys on Rushmore?

After Calamity Ganon's defeat, a devastated Zelda must come to terms with her ruined kingdom, dead friends, and the resentment of the Hero who had saved her, but lost his fiancee. When all hope seems lost, she comes across a legend of a holy relic that can set things right, if she can find the ancient keys to access it. With the help of new friends, and without Link, can Zelda finally become a legend, on her own terms?

Well... Even if they didn't see Link and Zelda specifically, Hylians must have seen the Divine Beasts shooting lasers at Hyrule Castle, followed by Calamity Ganon taking on more solid form in Hyrule Field and then disappearing in a giant blast of light. Most of that wouldn't be seen from Hateno -- maybe just the laser from Vah Ruta, but I'm not sure -- but there are enough Hylians traveling throughout the distance, and news of something like this would spread quickly. If the Hatenoans know what happened 100 years ago and/or 10,000 years ago, they could put the pieces together and conclude that the Hero and the Princess were both present.

If that's true, then someone they've never seen before showing up at their door claiming to be the Goddess-Blood Princess who sealed Calamity Ganon might not be so far-fetched -- especially if she rides in on a royal white horse, and clad in something befitting a princess. (Her Champion outfit probably wouldn't be enough, but she could have something made in Kakariko.) That would be enough to at least open their minds to the possibility.

After that, I think it's a matter of making them want to believe. If accepting Zelda as Queen of Hyrule brings real, tangible benefits to Hateno, they'll eventually do it. If not, they'll just shrug it off and move on. That's where Zelda's (and Purah's and Robbie's) skills with Sheikah tech become useful. If she offer them superior tools, and security from monster attacks, and perhaps a firmer alliance and more active trade with Kakariko and Zora's Domain, that's a good start. If she can weave a narrative of Hyrule's return to glory, with Hateno at its core reaping all the benefits, that's even better.

So the way I see it, there is a path that leads to Zelda being recognized as Queen of Hyrule in Hateno, and then expanding her influence to Tarrey Town and the stables and eventually the Gorons, Rito, and Gerudo (assuming she comes to terms with the Zoras first). The main thing holding Zelda back, is Zelda herself. I said before that she wouldn't be interested in some grand empire-building enterprise, but even if she were, she isn't exactly a weaver of narratives anyway. The only way I see it working is if she happens to attach herself to the kind of charismatic leader who could rally a ruined nation to collective action, and lead them successfully.

Realistically, it would probably be one of Zelda's descendants three or four generations later that takes on that project.

She would definitely have to reunify the kingdom from scratch all over again. The fact that she has link’s support and he essentially came back from the dead to defeat the evil all Jesus-like gives her a pretty strong footing, but she will have to do the legwork and basically create a new kingdom from scratch ala Tetra. For the first time in the series I WANT a direct sequel, because that would be a very interesting time....but I don’t expect it. I think the best we could hope for is a title a few generations later, where we learn of the aftermath as history.

My philosophy on the timeline now is the same as Winston Churchill’s:

“It is a mistake to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one Link at a time.”

I imagine something similar to what happened at the end of OoT minus a few things.

1. The Master Sword is returned

2. Hyrule has peace until C.Ganon comes back

3. There will be no Hero, divine beasts (because they were used as weapons against them), or strong enough princess by the time C.Ganon comes back forcing the hyruleans to ask the gods for some divine intervention.

I imagine that Zelda's acts towards rebuilding the Kingdom of Hyrule would be motivated less out of a sense of authority or right to rule, but rather a desire to help others and unite people. Hylians may very well come to follow her out of respect, awe and gratitude for the work she does. Working on the divine beasts and researching Shiekah tech to reverse engineer it as Robbie has to make peoples lives easier is one example, but there is also the matter of her divine power having awakened too. Perhaps she could use this power in order to help others; exterminate what monsters are left in Hyrule with Link's help, heal the sick and dying...by the end of it she may earn the reputation not just as a princess, but a prophet.

The post was edited 2 times, last by Nintendude1236 (Dec 10th 2018, 7:22pm).

Zelda said that her power was gone at the end of the game, though. I suspect that was largely psychological and it would come back if she really needed it again, but she probably won't spend her time traveling the land, blasting monsters and healing civilians. With experience and some training, perhaps she could learn to call it upon more easily, and in smaller doses, but she doesn't seem to want that power any more than she wants to be a ruler.